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Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA)

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Leeds Bradford International Airport (IATA: LBA, ICAO: EGNM) is located between the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Up to now it has always been in public ownership, but it is shortly (2007) to be sold. „

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not a bad place to start a holiday

As it's almost holiday season for a lot of people I thought I'd write a more recent review of Leeds Bradford airport. Leeds Bradford may not be the world's largest airport, but if you live locally it is fantastic resource - especially for those Yorkshire folk who are not that inclined to cross the pennines without good reason. It is around 10 miles from Leeds city centre, and about the same from Bradford. It's set in Yeadon, a former mill town and agricultural area. The airport has been in various stages of upgrading over the last few years, where they have increased the check-in capacity so Jet 2 flights now effectively have their own annexe. More recently they have done away with the old food court and bare seating areas and replaced them with new shop units and duty free upstairs, rather than the cramped and dark space it was.

Anyway, I should go more into the practical aspects of the airport. Before you arrive at the door there is a bit of controversy - there is a charge for cars entering the area to drop off passengers. This has proved unpopular, especially with taxi drivers, as it provides an added expense. Currently the prices are £2 for a car and £6 for a minibus which gives you 30 minutes to drop off or pick up if you are getting a lift. There are also onsite carparks as well as a variety of companies that offer nearby parking with shuttle buses. You can also get a bus from Leeds, Bradford, Otley or Harrogate. The buses are run by Centrebus and run regularly throughout the day. The last buses won't run beyond 11, so if you have a late flight you may want to get the latest times from West Yorkshire Metro.

Once at the airport, if you are flying Jet2, chances are you want the check in building on the right, for all other airlines it is most likely left. This description makes it sound a lot bigger than it is, but they are two ends of the same building. Check in whenever I have travelled has been relatively calm, rarely seeing large queues or crowds of exhausted travellers waiting to check in. Airlines such as KLM and BA use the airport as well as some of the major family holiday companies. There are up to 5 flights a day to Schipol, Amsterdam and daily flights to London Heathrow, making it a good hub airport, as well as a wide variety of tourist destinations including Rhodes, Majorca and Berlin.

As Leeds Bradford is relatively modest in size, the security queues are well managed and outside peak times ( I do not travel in school holidays!) are never too long. Industrial strength body scanning is not so much of an issue due to the size of the airport, but they are as thorough as you would expect. The room itself is very basic, it hasn't had the makeover they've applied to other public facing areas of the airport so feels a little like a port-a-cabin.

Once you're through the security checks you walk through to the recently refurbished departure lounges. Eateries range from Burger King to an almost Gastro pub - The Saltaire. The Saltaire does a good meal, with breakfasts being served throughout the morning, with the main menu of burgers, steak frites and other good quality pub grub is available from 12pm. The prices aren't that much above what you would expect to pay in Leeds city centre which is a pleasant change for an airport. For those of you who like a bit of sophistication, you can opt for the Yorkshire Premier lounge where they provide comfy seats, games consoles, drinks (including alcoholic) and snacks for around £20 per head. The duty free shop is modest in size but does have some nice things on offer. There is also a small WH Smiths and Superdrug, but not really one to rival the shopping centre that is Manchester airport.

As you would expect, screens showing departures are dotted around the area, and there are 12 gates on two floors - but within a 5 minute walk of each other. If you get lost, the chances are you are either next to or above the gate you are looking for. The announcements can sometimes be a bit muffled over the tannoy, but you can usually find a staff member to point you in the right direction. All in all, not a bad place to start a holiday

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Airport

Leeds Bradford airport

With five of us travelling to Pisa and with the flights being £150 cheaper each than from Newcastle, it seemed sensible to fly from Leeds. After a journey of just under two hours we found the car park and were transferred to the airport.

Our first sighting of the airport prompted one of the group to comment that it needed a "good clean" and yes the low rise building does look dirty and dated. The general impression of the place being unkempt continued into the drop off area. Nothing was clearly sign posted and after leaving the coach we followed the other travellers into the main entrance. In this case, entrance seems too grand a word, since it was simply one door. The size of the entrance was not the only issue; I can't begin to imagine whyit was considered a good plan to have the screen showing check in desks on the wall opposite the entrance so causing a bottle neck of people trying to get in. So we enter the airport via a corridor flanked by a wh smith shop and formed a single file to get to the check in desks.

There followed more confusion at the check in desk when the lady didn't check all of the tickets and passports but merely those of the lead passenger. This meant that when we went through security we weren't actually checked in and had to return to the check in desk to get our boarding cards.

Once through security, travellers enter directly into a duty free shop before getting into the general shop/eating area. By this time we had been in the airport for more than an hour and were glad to get a seat and settle down for a pre flight coffee. However, once seated, it became evident that even the eateries were uninspiring, and even more off putting was the fact that the toilets were right next to the eating area. The café we were in was not the cleanest I have ever been in, and over priced and the food hall looked no better.

For those wanting to fight their way through the over heated airport, there seemed to be another wh smith shop with queues snaking through the airport and hindering anyone trying to get to their check in gate, as well as a couple of duty free shops.

We did eventually get our flight with no further hiccups and although I was not looking forward our return to the airport, we were able to reclaim our luggage and get to the car in record time. The baggage area, unlike the rest of the area is bright, airy, clean and modern, and improves my rating of the airport considerably.

I have since read that the airport is about to undergo a £28 million development and yes, it certainly needs this. Its not truly awful, it just doesn't seem to meet the needs of travellers especially those in a hurry to get anywhere. Everywhere there are queues, and hold ups, and all of the areas are too small to deal with the number of people using the airport.

Yes, I would use the airport again if the savings were sufficient, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a pleasant pre flight experience.

Thanks for reading

Daniela xx

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Good alternative to Manchester

Leeds Bradford is situated on the outskirts of Leeds, and is a fairly small airport compared to the relatively close Manchester Airport. However, compared to my local airport, Humberside, this place is huge.

You can fly to a huge amount of destinations from Leeds Bradford airport. These destinations include Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Islamabad, Pakistan. You can also fly to many UK destinations including Aberdeen and Southampton.

Many of the budget airlines now run flights from the airport, including FlyBe and Ryanair.

My Experience

In 2008 my boyfriend and I won a pair of return flights each with Jet2. We chose our destination, and the nearest airport we could fly from was Leeds Bradford. Neither of us had ever flown from the airport, so this was going to be something new.

We always tend to get a train to the airport, as I am a big scaredy cat and don't do driving on motorways. As our flight was an early morning one, we decided on booking a night in a nearby hotel and travelling down the day before.

We booked train tickets from Hull to Leeds for something ridiculous like £5 each. As previously mentioned, the airport isn't in Leeds itself, so we then had to get to the hotel, which was located just opposite the airport. This was easy, as there was a bus which ran from just outside Leeds train station directly to the airport. This cost just a couple of pounds each and took around 40 minutes in rush hour traffic.

We got off at the airport and it was just a five minute walk to our hotel for the night. We stayed at Leeds Bradford Travelodge, and paid £19 for the room.

We were told in the booking confirmation that Jet2 check-in opened two hours before departure, so made sure we were in check in for this time. Been a small airport, check-in was very easy to find. To our surprise check-in was already open on arrival. We were swiftly check-in by a very pleasant lady and were given our boarding cards.

Eating

There are a few choices of places to eat and drink, though nothing like what you get in the bigger airports. However compared to Humberside where there is one cafe in departures and that's your lot, we were impressed.

Here is a list of facilities available:Cafe Ritazza (Arrivals)Yates' Bar (Before Security)Burger King (First floor departures)Food Villages (Depatures after passport control)Danby Bar (Depatures after passport control)Cafe Bar (Depatures after passport control)My boyfriend and I began our week of indulgence with a full English breakfast at the food village. I believe it was around £7, which is what we expected. The food was lovely, and service was fast.

Shopping

There are a few shops in the airport, none of which really interested me but I will list them all the same:

Alpha Airport ShoppingStressless FeetWHSmithSuperdrugTravelex

I liked that there was a Smiths and Superdrug. These are always handy for getting snacks or drinks for the flight and are usually pretty reasonably priced. However the choice of shops was pretty disappointing compared to airport such as Manchester, but you have to remember this airport is minute in comparison.

Overall Opinion

I was impressed with Leeds Bradford airport. It was easy to get to using public transport, check in was swift and the facilities at the airport were great. There was plenty of seating, and there was always somebody around to assist you should you require help.

Oh, and during my visit there was a few computers around which could be used to access the internet at a charge. This was great and a good way to waste the time away when waiting to depart.

Our flight left on time, and we arrived back into the country on time too.The only thing that puts me off using the airport, is the nightmare family had getting there when coming to pick us up. They said it was a really hard airport to get to. This said, I would probably just used public transport if I was to use the airport again as this was really easy and cheap to do.

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A small friendly airport but take your own food or eat before you get there!

The airport is very small compared to other airports like Manchester or Heathrow. We had an early flight so needed to buy our breakfast before we travelled. With today's current financial problems I think it's appalling that it cost me nearly £20 for 2 teas, a cooked breakfast and 4 slices of toast. The breakfast was manky and the toast was like it had been microwaved. I can't believe they can get away with charging so much for such bad quality.

There is a WHSmith and a decent duty free shop, a bar and small children's play area. There are suitable changing facilities for your baby and I was disappointed later to find a much better looking cafe bar area upstairs that looked nicer than what we'd just bought downstairs!

Before you go through security there is a Superdrug - if you need anything then make sure you get it here as there isn't a boots or Superdrug after security.

It's a cute little airport and good for me and my family living so close its easy to get flights up to Edinburgh or down to London. When booking our holiday every year we do always try and fly from Leeds Bradford but sometimes it's cheaper to fly from Manchester.

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a nice little airport.

Leeds Bradford airport is situated a short (roughly 20 minute) drive from the centre of Leeds city. Its easy accesablility and large number of transport routes makes it an easy airport to get to. The airport itself is not exactly a big airport and does only host smaller planes to destinations that are not too far afield.I caught a flight to dublin from Leeds Bradford roughly a year ago, and i think due to the size of the airport i did not find it a stressfull experience, but a rather serene one. The departure lounge and duty free is limited but offers the airport basics with a few fast food places and a bar or two. On return from dublin i was however surprised to pass through the airport without seeing a single official or member of staff, not being checked once. From touching down to getting in a taxi was an entirely barrier free, which was a rather nice experience!

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much better than larger airports

we departed from leeds bradford last october I found the experience good.Its a small airport by comparison to others we have departed from. The staff were friendly the queue for securitywent smoothly no real hassle.The food in the main restaurant upstairs was not that great Not good value for money .It was a snowy day the day we travelled and the plane needed to be deiced before we left this was done quite quickly and with no delay.We flew with a low cost airline to prague for a few days . The airport is fine to get to no hold ups along the way. the small shops in the airport are great for those last minute items but like all airport shops a bit pricey. I would fly from leeds bradford again as it is a good alternative to manchester or liverpool I like small airports as they are easy to get through and dont have millions of people hanging about its just in and out and up and away.regional airports are better than your big ones more personal with helpful staff who have time for you.

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A welcome relief from the rigmarole of airports in Yorkshire's own way

I love flying but I hate airports... everything to do with them form the hassle of getting there, to the overpriced and underchoiced food, to the lines and lines of security/ passport/ boarding queues.

Imagine my surprise then when I was dropped off at this mystical little airport, up high above Leeds and comfortably wandered in to the tiny terminal. There in front of me were two normally priced pasty shops (you got to love Yorkshire) and very few people cluttering up the way. My check in was quick and easy and the security check was pleasant. This is the firstairport in the world where I could have a joke and banter with the guys operating the x-ray machines.

It really is an enigma as Leeds/Bradford airport seems to be from a time before air travel was bogged down with mistrust and corporate running. You can tell the difference between this and a BAA airport instantly and its oldy-worldy feel puts some sort of pleasure back into budget flying

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The best of the four airports I have been to.

Having only been to 4 airports in my entire life, I don't really have much to gauge this against, but out of those four, Leeds Bradford is easily the largest and most accomplished, although definitely the most expensive to wait and shop in. My only other UK airport was the new small airport in my home town of Doncaster. The other two were abroad. Leeds Bradford (LBA) is relatively small for a major airport in this country, but being right on my doorstep has its benefits and that was the reason for the selection.

Upon entering the area, the airport is really poorly sign posted as we drove past the entrance twice and even went into a completely wrong establishment. Once we got there though the road markings were clear and the car park was easy to navigate and park up. plenty of trolleys were available for our suitcases and it was only a very short walk to the check in area from that point.

The check in set up is well organised with clearly labelled queues and plenty of staff on hand to assist you with any questions you may have. now, obviously the staff are different for each airline, but we found ours, with Air Malta, to get through the queue quickly so that at least tells you that the computer system at LBA works really well.

Now, the real problem occurs as waiting around for your flight to be called could, if you are not careful, bankrupt you before you even leave. Sure, the area is full of quality shops and restaurants, but they are far too expensive and set me and husband back £30 for a dinner and a drink. It was nothing extravagant and we didn't even get anything for our 1 year old at the time.

The plus side to this area was the fact that it was very child friendly and amongst the best changing facilities I have ever come across for babies and toddlers. This area was also really well sign posted and we were in no doubt where to go once our number was called.

The queuing to get on the plane was again down to the airline rather than the airport, but it was all well organised alongside the airport staff. The walkway to the plane itself was your standard tunnel on to the plane.

Upon arriving back we were greeted by clear signposts to the luggage pick up points. These were the usual conveyor belt system and took no longer than 15 minutes to arrive. The exit was the next destination and was also easy to find.

I can't find a lot wrong with LBA other than the prices once inside, but I suspect that is the norm with airports.

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Easy to get to

I use this airport about 3 times a year, to go on holiday and visit my boyfriends family.Leeds airport is situated on the outskirts of Leeds in Yeadon. Its a tiny airport, with just a small waiting area for arrivals and a seperate one for departures.

There are quite a few airline companies here but the only one I use is Jet 2 as they are the cheapest to fly to Holland.

There isnt really any entertainment as there is in other airports, the only shops are WHSmiths, Boots, and duty free when you have gone through security.There is a Greggs in the arrivals section, as well as a small section. In the departures there is a bar area that also serves food.I usually just get something from Greggs as it is the cheapest out of all the food outlets, and is the same price as any other Greggs.There is nowhere to really sleep or lie down if your flight is delayed, as the airport is too small, so you will be bored as my boyfriend once waited there for about 3 hours and he was going insane by the end!

The staff are all very helpful and pleasant at the airport, they will point you in the right direction, although its not easy to get lost in the one terminal, especially compared to somewhere like Amsterdam airport!

If you dont have a car, there is a useful bus link from Leeds bus station, that runs along kirkstall road, so for all the students just walk down to there from hyde park and you can hop on the bus for £2.10 one way, or get a dayrider if you are meeting someone and bringing them back.

For those with a car, theres a small multistory within free bus distance of the airport. Theres also a short stay if your picking someone up.

This airport is great for residents of leeds who dont want to travel to Manchester to fly. It takes 45 mins on the bus from the bus station, and drops you right at the front of the terminal, so its very practical. Also you only have to be there 45 mins before gate closure on Jet2, so flying with them can be a quick process as long as theres no delays.

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Its ok for a airport

leeds Bradford was the first ever airport I flew from and I think it was great for a first timer, due to the size of the airport there is just enough outlets and not too busy and therefore you don't feel overwhelmed like you can at some airports!

Leeds bradford airport has some good public transport links to it so you don't have to pay out for parking or taxi service.

There are car hire facilities available, plenty cash machines, foreign exchange, there is a smiths, a superdrug store and a airport shopping shop.

You can chose from Greggs, yates, obrians, burger king and the food village if you want to eat before your flight or have a drink to pass the time. Not to badly priced for a airport.

Best of all apparently Leeds bradford airport has the shortest delays out of all UK airports!! Not bad when it now travels to 76 destinations world wide. for a small airport its pretty good, but not ideal if you like a tempting shopping experience to help the time go quickly.

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Great airport close to major cities of Leeds and Bradford

Leeds Bradford airport is situated at Yeadon and used to known to locals as "Yeadon airport". The name was changed several years ago to indicate its central location between the major northern cities of Leeds and Bradford.

The airport is quite small, but has a lot of facilities for travellers, including several retail outlets and food outlets.

Because of its size the airport car park is often very busy, especially at peak times when people are leaving/arriving on business flights.

If you are going on holiday it is possible to leave your car at the airport for the duration, but a better alternative is to use one of the companies located near the airport which offer transfers when you leave your car there.

Leeds Bradford airport is clean and I have always found the staff to be very helpful and efficient. The different sections of the airport are well signed and as it is not too big, it is not too tiring moving from one area to another.

There are connecting flights to London throughout the day, and also flights to Amsterdam if you are taking an onward international flight. Many tour operators are now using LBA so it saves local people the trip over the M62 to Manchester. And don't forget to check out the cheap flight operators who also offer European flights from LBA at very competitive rates.

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FLY AWAY!!

Leeds & bradford airport almost in the middle of no where, with few residents, is a great airport for any one looking to watch the flights on a quiet sunday afternoon then walk around the picturesque lake next to itWell it looks like there will be no more if plans go ahead for the airport to be shut down and most probably built uponI havnt heard much about it but i believe there is plans for it to be demolition this summer as the commitee or something say that the airport isnt busy enoughWell i think its a little pathetic but what can i say iv enjoyed every relaxing afternoon on the near-by carpark and i will be the first to put my name down on the petition to stop the demolition of the airport

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Leeds Bradford International Airport is a pleasure to use; efficient, clean and modern and on a scale that doesn't overpower. Leeds Bradford has recently had extensive alterations to it's terminal building, the latest being the development of a food court incorporating a Yates' Wine Lodge, Dales Food Village and a Burger King. This latest development opened on 27 June 2003 and has created an extensive eating and drinking area on the second floor. The terminal building itself is a nice size, currently there are 26 check-in desks although this will expand to 42 by May 2004. Check-in at the airport is always quick and is one of the many positives of the airport. Likewise, you should not expect to wait long for luggage as there are 3 caroussels for international travel and 2 for domestic - again these facilities will be expanding by May 2004. There are a number of hire car companies in the terminal, Thomas Cook money exchange offices, W H Smith for stationery (landside and airside) and ATM (Cash Card Machines) available. The large tour operator's have ticket desks as do the large airlines that serve the airport and Servisair flight handling. In the arrivals area there is an O'Briens sandwich bar and plasma screen displays for arriving and departing aircraft. Centrally in the terminal is the information desk and further plasma screens. The airport has a number of executive lounges, Servisair, bmi - British Midland and Yorkshire Executive lounge. The departure lounge has a large cafe, WH Smith book store and a good Duty Free shop and other shops and cafe's. There is plenty of seating and lots of room for children - including an Airtours play area. Boarding is either by coach or the two air-gates, the latter being rare at a regional airport. Scheduled air services are provided by Klm, bmi- British Midland, Ryanair, Flybe, Eastern Airlines and the low cost operators JET2. Mult iple charter operators serve LBA to all the main destinations in the Meditteranean. Scheduled international services include; Geneva, Dublin, Paris, Brussells, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, Murcia, Nice, Alicante, Malaga, Cork, Malta, Prague, Faro and Palma de Mallorca - which is pretty extensive!! Car parking is directly in front of the terminal and contains both long and short stay and is cheaper than most other airports. Both car parking areas are well covered security wise and long stay has its own dedicated shuttle bus. One disadvantage of LBA is it's to the north of Leeds and Bradford and away from the M62 corridor and M1. That said, the ring road does provide an adequate link and travel from North Yorkshire is very easy via the A1(M)/A658 from Harrogate. The weather also has an influence on LBA - as the United kingdom's highest airport fog and low cloud can lead to some diverted flights. However, the perception of diverts is much worse than the actual number (around 50 a year is average). The airport is fully equiped with CAT111a automatic landing guidance and therefore disruption is very rare. Overall, the service, terminal facilities and excellent staff make up for any shortcomings of location. I would strongly recommend the airport to any kind of traveller whether that be business or leisure. For anyone wanting a view of the airport there are virtual tours and further information on all areas of the airport can be found at: http://www.lbia.co.uk/

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When I visited Leeds Bradford airport I was quite surprised. I was only on a flying visit for work and some of my friends had been there and were telling me stories about there visits. When I arrived I was interested to find that the airport was actually very nice and tidy although it was slightly small and could get crowded at times. However, this, at the time that I was there was being changed by some sort of extension work. There is also some webcams around the airport which you can see on there website but I don't think it actually changes. When I was there, some of the staff were a tad bossy which was a bit of a let down but you could cope with it. It is useful for nearby inhabitants for flights into London and if need be connections to the rest of the world. There are also charter flights to the Mediterranean in the Summer which is great instead of people having to go all the way to Manchester. They have a varied range of shops there although there could be a few more high street shops but it is small and not many people will use so many shops. I quite like the idea of the children's play area because kids can get really bored and annoying when you are waiting for your flight. I have not used either of the business lounges so I don't really have much of a preference but the layout of the airport is very good and most things are easily accessable. I didn't use the transport there so I can't really comment on that but although it is small, it's comfortable and clean. If you live there, fly from there but there is little point flying to the airport unless you really need to.

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Having been unable to travel from Manchester, we were offered the chance to fly from Leeds to Paris instead. I had never been before, but it was either that or Heathrow, and anything short of making my own wings is preferable to Heathrow, so we decided to try Leeds. It is slightly in the middle of nowhere - Leeds is a well-connected city, but the airport is quite far out, and I would say that it deserves a better connection. Nevertheless, we were travelling from Manchester and it didn't take that long. We thought we were lost because we couldn't see planes anywhere, but sure enough we found it, and it is pretty tiny. Nevertheless, it has good-sized parking and all the facilities you'd expect from an airport, except on a much-reduced scale. It's a perfectly professional place, and it's only the limited number of carriers who fly from there (we were using British Midland) that really disadvantages it. We parked for a weekend for less than ten pounds, which compared to most airports is a bargain. But the best thing I can say about Leeds-Bradford is the effect its size has on your journey - I am certain that from standing up on the plane, to being in the car and driving away took no more than 25 minutes, which is nothing short of miraculous. Because there are not long corridors to walk (the terminal building being so small) it takes no time at all to get the formalities out of the way, and that is a very big bonus indeed.